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Hans Christian Andersen is best known for his fairy tales, although he also wrote plays, novels, travel books, and an autobiography. Born and raised in Odense, an island off the coast of Denmark, he was the only child of a shoemaker and a washerwoman. Many of the characters found in Andersen's fairy tales contain the traits of their author--for example, like the swan in "The Ugly Duckling" Andersen was picked on before he was "transformed" into a successful writer. Andersen's stories have been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible.

Hans Christian Andersen is best known for his fairy tales, although he also wrote plays, novels, travel books, and an autobiography. Born and raised in Odense, an island off the coast of Denmark, he was the only child of a shoemaker and a washerwoman. Many of the characters found in Andersen's fairy tales contain the traits of their author--for example, like the swan in "The Ugly Duckling" Andersen was picked on before he was "transformed" into a successful writer. Andersen's stories have been translated into more languages than any other book except the Bible.